Electric cars are propelled by electric motors. No other engines are used by the vehicle for propulsion. Although electric vehicles in general do not require a battery (trains, trams and trolley buses) electric cars do.
The Reva city car is sold in the UK as the G Wiz. This vehicle is available new and used from GoingGreen in London and is now often seen on the roads in London. These cars have an excellent environmental record. The Green Car Company will not comment at this time, but consumers should be aware of the occupant safety issues relating to this car which have been identified by BBC's Top Gear: Top Gear.
Although General Motors killed off the EV1, it seems they are back looking at the market with The Chevy Volt which is an exciting hybrid/ mutli fuel car - have a look on treehuggerabout this vehicle.
How do they work?
The wheels are either powered by an electric motor in each of the wheels themselves or, more commonly, a single central electric motor is connected to the wheels through a transmission. Electric vehicles get their all their power from a battery, which is recharged as needed from an external source. Unlike a conventional engine, an electric motor works efficiently at a wide range of speeds, so an electric car does not need a gearbox. Also electric motors may be used to slow the vehicle and pass the energy back to the battery. When an electric vehicle has its motors in the wheels there is no need for a transmission. This makes more space available and reduces that weight of the car. A lighter car is more fuel efficient and less dangerous when impacting a pedestrian.
How can you use them?
Because their power source, a battery, is currently much heavier than the power source of a conventional car, the fuel tank, electric vehicles are more limited in their range (the distance they can travel between recharges of the battery). For example, it takes about one ton of batteries to store as much energy as seven kilos of petrol. Electric cars are well suited to city driving but cannot be used for long distances. There are a small number of public recharging points for electric vehicles, but in general it will help if you have the ability to park them off road and recharge them from a standard power socket in your house.
Electric vehicles are even more eco-friendly if the electricity used to charge the batteries comes from a sustainable source. People who would consider buying an electric car are bound to have a green electricity supply already.
Pros and cons
+ In environmental terms, probably the best car option around especially if the electricity it uses comes from renewable sources.
+ Zero emissions from the car itself makes it a saint in the city.
+ Extremely quiet
+ Exempt from the London Congestion Charge and has zero road tax.
+ Cheap to run at roughly a penny per mile and generally lower maintenance costs than conventional vehicles.
-- Safety issues?
-- Generally low top speed (although electric cars have surprisingly quick acceleration, so they can keep up with city traffic without any difficulty).
– Limited range and lengthy recharging times means they are not suitable for long journeys.
– The batteries cause pollution problems when the time comes to dispose of them.
